So disappointed. Spent a fair ammount to get a quin board with all the bells and whistles. Forced to use external antenna. I have several less expensive wled controlers with on board wifi. These all work great. The quin board just wont maintain a connection to the wifi. Its wierd i was under the impression i should get better connection with external antenna. Besides this theres no case you can buy that holds the dig uno with ae+ so i have an exposed board with no reliable wifi connection. As i said every other less expensive wled controller has no issues maintaining a connection to my wifi. So yeah 70.00 dollars or so all said and done . I could have bought 2 of the less expensive ones that work great so far. Just disappointed. Ill continue to see if i can fix this.
Hey hey, just happened to catch this, want to come over to the Discord server and see if we can figure it out? You are right that the external antenna should provide a better WiFi connection in all cases vs internal WiFi so something is definitely off!
Regarding case I understand what you mean, most often the boards get built into a project box of sorts together with other wiring, PSU, etc… but using it bare is more difficult, I understand you there.
Let’s see if we can figure it out.
Ty for your time. Im currently unavailable to join a chat or anything. If i can get it online ill take a look at the settings and see if the signal strength is good. I havent been able to stay connected long enough to access that since it occurred. So ty ill try and get with you or provide more data when i can . Again ty.
You may also want to try and reflash the firmware from: https://install.quinled.info/ Maybe it had a bad flash.
I cannot confirm this is the only issue. It appears the external antenna is faulty. The brass connector that attaches to the esp32 from the external antenna has come off when i was checking to see it was tight and good. I cannot seem to attach it and crimp it in order to fix it. I may have to just buy another. If you could tell me what kind i can find on amazon ill look into replacing it. Ty this may not be the issue but im quite certain it is. Ty
I have used these from Aliexpress and they have provided me more range than the standard whatever they are 3dbi? ones. The wire these come with however is is not the greatest as it is thin.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805751672778.html
If you are going to buy a new antenna and cable even at Amazon I would look at larger 10dbi ones as the range is much improved (at least it was for me) The down side is the antenna is larger. Take your time attaching it to the board as it can be tricky to get the lil connector to snap on. It may help to position the connector there and press it down with something like a pencil eraser.
Is there a way i can just buy the wire with the connector? Are those sold separately? If so link possible?
You may need to wait for @Quindor to answer that. It depends on if his cable is male or female, as the wrong one would not allow the antenna to attach to the wire.
Yeah i want to order the right thing. Ive paid and waited long enough.
The connector on the ESP32 side is IPEX(1) also called U.FL. You then get a pigtail with that connector on one side and then SMA or RP-SMA on the other side but that depends on the antenna you are buying. The cable we deliver is IPEX to RP-SMA with an RP-SMA antenna to go with it.
Sorry you have so many issues, the cable really shouldn’t fail like that but there can always be a dud. If you’d like a few bucks refund let me know!
Ok so i got the antenna issue corrected with a new one. So fired it up and blinky blinky. Well next logical step check data wires for good connection. I did all that replaced connectors just to be sure. Checked the resistor its on 33 or whatever. So what was something else i could try. So i had 1 hope skip first led. That seems to have corrected blinky light issue. So my problem is this. I bought a board with level shifters to make sure i can run no more the 10 meters of led no more then say 5 meters of data from controler. Well that doesnt appear to be an option. As it will most likely glitch out. Ive got maybe 12 inches from controler to first led. I gotta skip the first to even get it to work properly. Bummed unless theres another way of fixing things. I have little hope of it doing multiple outputs if it has issues with just 1. So ill use it somehow but not really here to complain. Sorry. Is there somthing i could check to see if its worth even trying multiple data lines? Am i stuck skipping first led? Should i even bother trying the other data outputs i got the ae+ with the extras. So i decided to continue to trouble shoot by turning on first pixel etc . Well now settings are not saving and led count is messed up. The colors lock up when changing effects. No led setting save now. So skipping first led isnt skipping anything lol. So back to some sort of data issue i guess along with a software issue. I know reflash it? I dont have a reliable pc available for this. I use my phone for everything pretty much. So thinking im going to have to set it aside and call it a expensive lesson. For me.
You could try doing an OTA update from your phone. Not sure it will work as I have never tried to OTA from a phone. But maybe Maybe you have a friend who’s PC you could use for 3 minutes?
Well it just died. No power to the board. Its not the power supply or connections. No led lit on any portion of the board. Fuse ok. So i just set aside and will move on. Lesson learned.
Take the Esp32 off the board and connect it’s usb-c port to power from a usb power source (phone charger or something) and see if just the board works. See if you can access it from it’s ip on your phone, or see if it is maybe broadcasting it’s AP.
Agreed, try updating to the newest version using USB flash on https://install.quinled.info and then try and see if things improve.
If you want a long data-wire use the ports in 33R mode (AE+ is always 33R) and use a 2-wire cable, one wire connected to GND and the other to the data port and run them that way, that will get you the most robust data signal that will also travel the furthest. If that doesn’t do it for you (likely because of outside interference then) you need to move to a differential solution which is a much more robust data signal, I am currently working on boards for this and the first will be available shortly.
Sorry you are having such problems with it, it really can work if you can work with us a bit.
I did everything you mentioned but flash it. Now it no longer powers up. I checked continuity through the board after everything and i had it at all the places i should. Bottom line is i should have never bought a board that has no case and requires an external antenna and have to flash the software myself. You need a case to attach the antenna so if you move the controler the antenna doesn’t come loose. This might be great for the diy people who have 3d printers to make cases. Etc. I just dont have these things. I dont believe i should need to reflash sometimg to get it to work it was pre flashed its why i paid for pre flashed. The external antenna is great if you attch it and never touch it again then maybe it wont come loose again. So kinda need a case for that. So my here is a suggestion. Get cases for all your boards so if peole get an external antenna they can attach it so the wire isnt coming off if you move it around. Also if its pre flashed it should work . a customer shouldnt have to replace parts and flash software for pre built pre flashed device. Its why we buy them. Yes my fault not reading about the no case and external antenna for the dig uno ae+ . Yes i did see the disclaimer about this is still very much a diy board. I simply saw all the great reviews and got one finally. Looking back i shoulda realized the antenna would never stay on dangeling from a exposed board. Not to mention any mishaps with any metal coming in contact with said board. So me im the impulsive dummy who boaght a product that turned out to not meet my needs. Ty i just wish things would have worked out like everyone elses. Just not my luck. Ty
Data signal is the boards issue all my other cheap wled controlers work just fine no reflasing no level shifters. Its just 1 string geez not like im running 4 5 meter rolls like this was advertised to handel. It couldnt handel 1. I tried a cheap esp611e works great tried athom ecolicity and others wled products all work fine. Same number of leds. So while im sure most probably work out just not mine. But data signal is the whole reason i needed a mic and be able to run multiple strips. Cant run 1 lol its not the strip same strip works with the other controlers. So thats that. Ty
If it makes you feel better, the exact same happened with my Dig Quad from Drzzz. I bought it because of the fans. Once I got it, it worked great for a day, then it had wifi connection issues for a week, then it died. You’re not alone.
Ty for sharing your experience. I understand individuals are unaware of somones knowledge expertise. I however looked into alot of option attempts all quindors videos and documentation on this product. I even wached and read up on the strip itself adressable neon as he calls it 24 v 720 led per. 100 ic. I did all this before i even considered ordering this. I eould never ask for help without first trying to help myself. Ty for all the info however all of it has been tried before i ever posted. I have one thing if im bored one day ill try and get it reflashed. For now i gave up on that thing. I cant really use it with a antenna dangeling off it and no protection for the board anyway. So no rush . I may fabricate a homemade case to hold the antenna so it doesnt dangle and allow me to move it around without issue of any accidental metal touching or falling even water or liquid spilling and possibly touching. No protection no rush. I would not choose this option for my needs of wled controlers in the future. And 1 last tidbit. Ive only ever used this strip type etc and had succuess with all controlers till now making the same items using same amount of leds. So while new to this i do have some experience with thee by now and learning more as needed.Ty
I’m not quite sure what is going on with your board and the issues you are having, again sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with it. We have hundreds of users running the boards with said 24v LEDs without a problem at all, including 5m data wires, etc. so it can most certainly work.
About the antenna, you bought the AE+ version so this should have been known before hand? It is however a board generally people put into their own housing, making the external antenna ideal for range. If you’d like a fully integrated solution with a nice case, maybe the dig2go is a better choice, that however is limited to 5v.
Did you make it to the Discord? I’d love to guide you in troubleshooting and if the board is faulty I will happily replace it for you. Same goes for you @s9josh .